


Panic is on the Way

by katy15307



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Oasis (Band)
Genre: Halloween, Magic, mansion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 05:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12977247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katy15307/pseuds/katy15307





	Panic is on the Way

“Not a word to Our Kid, nothing until we’re there and he can't get outta it, alright?”   
“Yeah. I get it.” Jenny nodded.  
I knew I was boring her, drilling her with how the night will go but it had to be perfect. We'd thought of everything to deceive Liam into thinking he’d have nothing to worry about. We were going to have a lot of fun at his expense tonight. The best kind of fun.  
“Alright then.”  
“You are such a meanie doing this, y’know?”  
“I do but it's Liam so it's fucking hilarious.”  
She rolled her eyes. “How about I make us some dinner while we wait?”  
“You're my guest.” I meant she didn’t have to because she’s the guest but at the same time I wasn’t going to stop her, she was a top cook.   
“It's no problem. I can create meals faster than you.”  
“Nothing’s faster than a pot noodle.” I responded quickly.  
“And this is why your mum worries about you.”  
“She don’t cos she knows I get people in.”  
She went off to the kitchen. She did this thing, I forgot what she said it's called but she just pops up wherever she wants straight away. She's not meant to do it in front of me so I look the other way and watch the telly.  
While she was taking her time in the kitchen and I was flicking through channels on the telly (I was too ready for the evening to concentrate on a show) the doorbell rang. I answered and welcomed Liam in.  
He wasn't supposed to come over, we were going to pick him up when it was time. We hadn't asked him yet.   
“Shit!” I put on a shocked face. “It's a fucking monster.”  
“Wot?” he answered, furrowing his brows in confusion.  
“My mistake it's just your face. Thought ya had a mask on then.”  
He walked past me and managed to find himself a mirror to check himself out in. “You need your eyes testing, I'm beautiful, me.”  
“What ya doing?”  
“I'm bored.”  
“Me too but I don't go mithering you.”  
“I'm not mithering you. Patsy’s gone off. She's got this massive Halloween catwalk thing.”  
“Why didn't ya go with her?”  
“I'm not a poof. Only poofs go to those things.”  
“No, boyfriends go too, to support their missuses.”  
“Not me, they're so fucking boring.”  
I could agree with him there. Meg couldn’t get me to go along to one of those things. This was even better, he couldn’t have her come and rescue him when he got too scared.  
“So she's out all evening?”  
“Today and tomorrow, it's in fucking Chester.”  
“How could she leave poor Liam alone in his big empty house on Halloween?”  
He was such a baby. I hated the holiday because I couldn't be arsed with it. He hated it because he was terrified of ghosts, ghouls and everything else. He was convinced there were ghosts everywhere we went, every hotel room he stayed in had one. What were the chances of that?  
“Exactly.” He didn’t even defend himself. “That's why I'm staying here.”  
“You're not. I've already got company.”  
“A bird?”  
“An old mate.”   
“Who?”  
“She's in the kitchen. You watch the telly and I'll let her know you're here. She might let ya have some scran.”  
He jumped on the sofa and spread himself out like a teenage slug. He had the controller and the telly was back to running through the channels.  
Jenny was making food normal style. She had a few pans going and only one was stirring itself.   
She'd tied her long ginger hair into a ponytail that swished as she moved about. She had an apron on, protecting her clothes.  
“He's here.” I whispered although the kitchen was far enough away from the living room. “Our Kid’s come over.”  
“Really, already?”  
I nodded.  
“We could do a pumpkin carving.” Her eyes lit up. “That'll be fun.”  
“No! He'll get suspicious.”  
“He won't.”  
“Will, anything out the ordinary and he’ll be spooked.”  
“Please. I've already taken the middle out of this one. “She showed me a pumpkin with a circle bit cut out the top and an empty middle.” I'm making soup and pumpkin pie and stuff with them.”  
“Sounds delicious but I'm not carving a bloody pumpkin, no way.” I’d never done one, I wasn’t starting now.  
She gave me a look. She really wanted to do it. I wasn't going to back down. I didn't get it. What's the point of cutting faces into them and sticking them outside to rot? It'd only encourage people to come fucking trick or treating.   
“I've got a better idea. He's in the living room. Why don't you make something move?”  
“You know I can't, not in front of him!”  
“Just a little bit.” I pincered my thumb and finger.  
“No!”  
“Please!”  
“I'll get in serious trouble.”  
“You've done it before.”  
Where did our Liam get the idea that his stuff was moving around from? Who turned his lamp on and off when there was no one in the room?   
Most of the time it was me and the lads sneaking about but it came from her. We met when we were ten, she didn't have much control over it at all then but then she went off to boarding school while I went to the local comprehensive. Whenever she was home for Christmas or Summer, we spent it roaring with laughter at Liam’s ghosts.  
She grew up before I did though, stopped finding it funny, started thinking it was cruel. She thought I was picking on him far too much and I only liked her because of what she could do. We got distant, she focused on school and getting a job working for her lot.  
We crossed paths again years later, after I'd become the famous rock star I am. For once she wasn't one of those “friends” who came out the woodwork. It was in Bristol. I had a gig. She was doing work business. We became friends again, the type you see once in awhile.   
It was nice to be around her. It was humbling, it brought me back down to earth. She was the only normal person I knew.  
“You said we stick to the plan like a military operation.”  
“But I'll piss mesen when he comes running in here, screaming his head off.”  
I didn’t care. I just wanted to see his scare. We weren’t going to convince Liam to go to the house Jenny had found anyway. He wasn’t going to go out at all until the morning so we’d have to do it here  
She stepped away from the stove. “What do ya want to see float?”  
“Hmm... the TV guide, flapping around right in front of the telly.”  
She waved her hands about in that direction. She didn't have to say a word. She knew how to do it just by thinking these days. She liked doing it like that so I couldn't tell if she was doing it or not.  
“NOEL. NOEL!” Liam ran into the kitchen brandishing the TV guide at me. “This. This was floating around, on its own? D’you believe me now?!”  
I grabbed it, trying so hard to keep a straight face. “So now the TV guide’s can fly?”  
“Yes.”  
“Come on. That's mad, even for you. Look.” I dropped it and it hit the floor. “What would a ghost want with the TV guide?”  
“It was a poltergeist. Poltergeists are dicks!”  
“One must be attached to you then. My stuff never moves around.”  
“Nor mine.” Jenny added.  
“You!” Liam pointed accusingly. “This shit always happens when you're around.”  
“That's ridiculous, she's been in here cooking.”  
“Everytime she's around weird shit like this happens. It's her.”  
“It's not me, what do you think I’m doing?” She turned to face him.  
“I've seen you. You stir your tea with your finger.” He circled his index finger like she did. “You make more food than we've got in, everything you make is like a chef made it.”  
“Thanks Liam but I whatever you think I am, I'm not. I've just had a lot of practice cooking.” she smiled, happy to take the compliment.  
“Ya don't need to keep bullshiting me. I know he knows so you might as well fucking tell me too.”  
“Know what?” I asked, pushing him into saying it.  
“She's a witch!”  
“Have you heard yourself? There's no such thing as witches.” I told him. “Next you'll be looking for her broomstick and her fucking cat.”  
“You're her cat! She doesn't need a fucking cat, she's got you.”  
“I'm her cat?!” I raised my eyebrows. “What are you on about?”  
“He's not my cat.” Jenny told him. “I don't like cats or they don't like me but anyway, I'm not a cat person.”  
“The fucking toad then.”  
“I'm human, he's human, there's only humans here. she insisted, breaking us up. “The food’s almost done, why don't you two set the table while I serve it?”  
“Great idea.” I agreed. “No more stupid talk of witches.”  
We tucked into her soup.   
“I want to make amends for getting on the wrong foot with you today Liam.”  
“No, you ant.” he said not stopping eating as he spoke. “I've got no problem with you.”  
“It's all the ghooost isn't it Liam? I sniggered.”  
“There are no ghosts. I don't know what you saw but it has to be a trick of the light cos there's no such thing.” Jenny as adamant he put ghosts   
“I know what I saw.” he muttered.  
“I'm glad you're not mad at me. I want to clear the air, let us be friends so I was wondering if we could go on a little trip once dinner is done.”  
“Tonight? No way?”  
“We're not doing anything else.” she pointed out. “Why not?”   
“Cos it's Halloween, ya don't know what's fucking out there.”  
“Kids in costumes, you're not scared of kids playing dress up are ya?” I   
“No but what about all the evil spirits that come out?”  
“I've gone out every year on Halloween and I've never seen anything like that.” Jenny insisted. “You'll be fine. I just want to show you something, I think you'll like it.”  
“Can't we stay here and you keep feeding us?”  
“I'll second that.” I agreed.  
Once dinner was ate and cleared away she had us carve those bloody pumpkins. It was kind of fun hacking a face into the pumpkin's flesh, not that either of us let on to the teacher that we were enjoying it.  
“Where were ya taking taking us?” Liam asked as he admired his work, his finished pumpkin.  
She drove us through the the night in her Ford Escort, pulling up outside a large victorian mansion. It was a huge, imposing building that looked at home on a night like tonight or in a horror movie. It was overgrown, unkempt and unloved, it was perfect.  
“Where’d you find this place?” Liam asked as Jenny let us in.  
“It's been in my family for generations.”  
“So it's yours?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Where's the light switches?”  
The house was very dark without light. It was genuinely quite spooky, a rather eerie place to be. Liam didn't seem to be scared yet though.  
“My ancestors never saw the need to install electric.” she revealed as she handed out torches from her bag. “Here.”  
“What are we doing here?”  
“I thought we could look around, there might be something cool in here.”  
She took us into the living room with Liam flashing his light all over. As he did the very old clutter moved about like there was a creature scurrying around. Paintings on the walls started moving, the frames themselves and their subjects.   
“Turn that light out!” A grumpy old man ordered only for Liam to shine the torch in his face so he stood up and walked out leaving the portrait, portraitless.  
“Did you see that?!”  
“No, what?”  
“He's gone. Look!”  
As he attempted to explain what he saw to Jenny I saw a black rat thing coming towards me. It climbed my leg at speed and didn't stop until it reached my hand. It took seconds to nick off with my ring.  
“Oi get back here. That's my fucking ring! I shouted but lost sight of the creature.  
Liam and Jenny looked at me. I held up my hand. “It took my ring, this rat thing.  
“How can a rat take a ring clean off your finger?” Liam asked.  
“Well it wasn't a proper rat. It was like a… I didn't see it properly, it's dark but it had hands and a pouch like a wombat but smaller.  
Liam scoffed. “There's no such thing.”  
“Where's my ring gone then?”  
“You won't believe me about the ghosts, I'm not believing you about your little creature.”  
“You must've seen it scurry away.”  
“Din’t. Has this place got a toilet or is that too modern for your family?”  
“Yeah, upstairs on the left in the corner.”   
Once he was gone Jenny apologised about my ring. We'll get it back. Those things see something shiny and they can't help themselves. It didn't mean any harm.  
“It better give it back and I won't mean any harm.” I said threateningly, I'd had the ring for so long it felt part of me, part of my image, I couldn't stop wearing it.  
“We'd better step up our game. I don't think Liam’s freaked out at all.”  
“He must be braver than he looks. What can you do?”  
“Well there's…”  
She was interested by Liam’s scream, I smirked until she pointed out “That's not me.”  
We ran up the stairs that creaked on every step and found him in a bedroom. There was a king size bed and a grand wardrobe and chest of drawers set. He was sat cowering behind the bed, .  
“The spiders. The spiders, the bugs, get them off me!” he did his best to swat away the imaginary insects.  
“There are no spiders.” I told him. “There's nothing on you. Snap outta it!”  
“They're crawling all over my skin.” He itched and swatted at himself. “Help me. I'm having a bad trip. Make it stop.”  
Jenny crouched in front of him and told him he wasn't tripping, he hadn't taken anything. She told him he had to calm down and make the spiders and creepy crawlies funny.  
I looked around the room. There was plenty of cobwebs but I couldn't see a single spider.   
What I did see was myself. I was stood there with both my hands broken. I couldn't pick up a guitar. I couldn't write. I couldn't do anything for myself. I saw stacks and stacks of unsold singles and unsold tickets to the shows. I saw Oasis and myself fade away into obscurity. Familiar to millions no more.  
“You have to make it funny or it won't stop. I heard Jenny still trying to stop Liam from panicking.  
“I want to go, please, let's fucking go!” Liam pleaded. “I wanna go back to Noel’s.”  
“We will. I promise.” she nodded. “Just make it funny, what makes you laugh?”  
“What do you see Jenny?”  
“I, no, nothing, it doesn't matter.”  
“Tell us. Show us how to make it funny.”  
She concentrated and then she laughed. “I made it slip over, classic Charlie Chaplin stuff. Your turn, laugh at it.”  
I imagined myself as a one man band, making a racket with all the instruments attached to me, singing away to a crowd of sympathetic passersby, it was so tragic it was hilarious.  
“Now you Liam, you need to laugh.”  
“I can't. How can I laugh? They're fucking eating me alive!”  
“Get him out of here.”  
As she shoved us out the room she got a stick out from her bag. I heard her say something, there was a cracking and noise like something was trapped in somewhere, trying to get out.  
Liam kept having his panic attack even now the visions were gone. I had to guide him on his breathing to stop him from hyperventilating. He was never meant to get that scared.  
“We'd better get out of here before we run into something worse.” Jenny announced as she left the bedroom.  
“Worse?” Liam’s eyes shot to her.  
“I'm joking. There's nothing worse than a few spiders.”  
“More than a few!”  
We led him down the stairs, he jumped out of his skin at every creak and every noise fearing the worst.  
“I'm sorry, Liam. I wanted you to enjoy Halloween. I thought it'd be a bit of fun.” Jenny apologised sincerely.  
“To set ghosts and spiders and horrible creatures on me?”  
“No. We were just going to move stuff around when you weren't looking, maybe sneak up on you and go boo.”  
“The what was with the paintings and everything?”  
“I spiked your soup.” she quickly lied. “I'm so sorry it turned into a bad trip. Nothing you saw was real.”  
“Let's just get home. You can come down in peace there.”  
The next morning Liam woke up. He knew drugs well enough to know he wasn't coming down because he was never high, what he saw weren't hallucinations.   
He went to demand answers off of Jenny but he couldn't find her. She was already long gone. She'd gotten up early and poofed herself back to Brighton where her current work project was.  
Noel was still there but he refused to talk about the night insisting Halloween was over. His ring was back on his finger and everything was back to normal.


End file.
